Written Answers Monday 25 April 2005

Scottish Executive

Ambulance Service

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures will be taken to ensure that the Scottish Ambulance Service gives its staff rest breaks and working hours in accordance with the working time regulations.

Mr Andy Kerr: Patient safety is of paramount importance and no NHS employee should be working when they are overtired. Employees of the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) can voluntarily sign an opt-out from the Working Time Regulations if they wish. Without signing the opt-out, employees of the SAS work no more than an average of 48 hours per week over a 17 week period and also receive rest in accordance with the regulations.

  The SAS has systems in place for monitoring the number of hours worked by all staff and ambulance controllers are in constant contact with staff throughout their shift to ensure appropriate breaks are taken. It should, however, be remembered that the SAS is an emergency service and that staff may have to delay breaks to deal with emergency calls.

Asthma

Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to develop a national asthma strategy.

Mr Andy Kerr: There are no plans for a formal national strategy. However, the Executive is participating in a range of measures to improve the quality of care for people with asthma. NHS Quality Improvement Scotland, with input from Asthma UK Scotland, is working on a project to develop and promote personal management plans for asthma. The Asthma Project is being supported by funding of £100,000, and includes training programmes for medical professionals. The Chief Scientist Office is putting substantial funding into asthma–related research projects. People with asthma will be among those who will benefit most from the ban on smoking in public places. At UK level, the new GP contract includes asthma as a condition which will attract additional remuneration if performance markers are met.

Cancer

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to promote awareness of the symptoms of prostate cancer.

Mr Andy Kerr: A Prostate Cancer Risk Management Primary Care Resource Pack has been circulated to every general practitioner in Scotland to help provide advice to men about prostate cancer risk.

  We have made available £4 million over two years to fund 10 well man pilot clinics across the country targeting our most disadvantaged men who are at the greatest risk of poor health. The pilots provide men with the opportunity to undertake a holistic health assessment which includes the opportunity to discuss concerns regarding prostate cancer.

  Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer were published in 2002. These guidelines are aimed at facilitating appropriate referral between primary and secondary care for men whom a GP suspects may have cancer and include information and advice about the signs and symptoms of prostate cancer.

Cancer

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed in (a) Scotland and (b) NHS Ayrshire and Arran in 2004.

Mr Andy Kerr: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-14639 on 10 March 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  2001 is the most recent year for which these data are available.

Children and Young People

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children have been taken home or detained in police custody since the inception of the child safety initiative known as the "Hamilton curfew".

Hugh Henry: In the first six months of the Hamilton Child Safety Initiative (HCSI), which started in October 1997, 200 children were removed from the streets by the police when they had concerns about their safety. The majority were taken home to their parents, with only four charged with any form of crime or offence. Strathclyde Police re-launched the initiative for a further twelve month period, in November 1998, as the Children and Young People’s Safety Initiative (CHYPS), covering the whole of Hamilton. Following a review of CHYPS, Strathclyde Police decided against continuing the programme as a separate initiative and instead extended the principles underpinning the initiative into community policing more generally.

  Figures for the number of children taken home by the police or detained in police custody are not available centrally for the later phases of this initiative. They are also not available centrally for other police forces.

Community Safety

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what recent representations it has received from the Association of Scottish Neighbourhood Watches.

Hugh Henry: The association has made no formal representations to the Executive. However, Justice ministers and officials have responded to enquiries from MSPs, members of Neighbourhood Watch schemes and the police about a national Neighbourhood Watch Association for Scotland.

Community Safety

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what sources of funding the Association of Scottish Neighbourhood Watches is entitled to apply for.

Hugh Henry: If the Association of Scottish Neighbourhood Watches were to apply formally to the Executive for funding with a proper business plan we would consider this.

Construction Industry

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the number of places available for construction students at further education colleges in order to allow more young people to train in the building and construction industry.

Mr Jim Wallace: It is for the board of management of each college to determine how best to provide suitable and efficient further education in the area served by the college. It is the responsibility of the board of management to prioritise delivery appropriate to local needs and circumstances and within the resources provided by the Scottish Further Education Funding Council.

  I recognise the importance of providing appropriate training opportunities for students wishing to enter the construction industry and understand that three colleges in the north of Scotland have applied to the funding council for funding to secure additional construction places. I fully expect the funding council to consider that approach very carefully.

Dentistry

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all six and seven-year-olds have access to dental services, including fissure sealing, in all NHS board areas.

Rhona Brankin: No. Those six and seven year old children registered with dentists under NHS capitation arrangements can receive preventive treatment, including fissure sealing where required.

Diabetes

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in implementing the Scottish Diabetes Framework and when it expects the process to be completed.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Diabetes Framework which was published in April 2002 referred to a 10-year programme to address the increasing problem of diabetes.

  Since the framework was launched, good progress has been made. Managed clinical networks for diabetes are now operational in all NHS board areas. The implementation of clinical management systems is progressing well. In terms of eye screening, piloting of a new retinopathy screening system is due to start in the summer.

  The framework is designed to be updated throughout its life to ensure that it remains focused on current priority issues. The consultation document Diabetes in Scotland: Current Challenges and Future Opportunities – Reviewing the Scottish Diabetes Framework was published in November 2004, setting out options for the first updating of the framework. Responses to the consultation have been broadly supportive of the framework’s objectives and of the topics identified as early priorities and those highlighted as requiring additional effort. A fully updated framework will be published later in the year.

Domestic Abuse

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the actual outturns were against target outturns for the Refuge Development Programme in each of the last three years and what projects were funded, broken down by local authority area.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Actual out-turn spend against target for the Domestic Abuse Refuge Accommodation Programme over the last three years have been as follows:

  

 
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05


Target
£2.84 million
£7.74 million
£5.54 million


Out-turn
£1.09 million
£2.41 million
£4.34 million (estimate)



  Because of delays with individual projects we now expect the programme to be fully completed in 2005-06

  Projects have been funded in 29 locations as follows:

  

Local Authority
Project


Angus
Montrose


City of Edinburgh
Edinburgh (Edinvar HA)


City of Edinburgh
Edinburgh (Old Town HA)


Dumfries and Galloway
Clerkhill


Dumfries and Galloway
Stranraer


Dumfries and Galloway
Newton Stewart


Dumfries and Galloway
Whithorn


Dundee City
Dundee


East Ayrshire
Kilmarnock


East Dunbartonshire
Bishopbriggs


East Renfrewshire
Barrhead


Falkirk
Denny


Fife
Dunfermline


Glasgow City
Southside


Highland
Inverness


Highland
Wick


Inverclyde
Greenock


Moray
Elgin


North Ayrshire
Kilbirnie


North Lanarkshire
Coatbridge


North Lanarkshire
Bellshill


Orkney Islands
Orkney


Renfrewshire
Paisley


South Ayrshire
Ayr


South Ayrshire
Troon


South Ayrshire
Girvan


South Lanarkshire
East Kilbride


Stirling
Stirling


West Dunbartonshire
Haldane

Energy

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what further steps it will take to promote Aberdeen as the energy capital of Europe.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive has a broad range of energy related initiatives which assist all parts of Scotland, including Aberdeen. This includes £150 million over 10 years to fund ITI Energy in Aberdeen which will develop and commercialise new energy and energy related technologies. We also contributed to the costs of a feasibility study into an Energy Futures Centre in Aberdeen.

Energy

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the indirect subsidy is from (a) renewables obligation certificates, (b) climate change levy and (c) any other related government grant per kilowatt-hour to (i) onshore wind, (ii) offshore wind, (iii) coal-fired, (iv) gas-fired and (v) nuclear generation of energy.

Mr Jim Wallace: Information on any indirect subsidy gained by (i) onshore wind, (ii) offshore wind, (iii) coal-fired, (iv) gas-fired and (v) nuclear generators is not held centrally.

  Electricity generated from onshore and offshore wind is eligible for Renewable Obligation Certificates and exempt from the climate change levy. Information is available on the average price of Renewable Obligation Certificates from the Non-Fossil Purchasing Agency’s website at http://www.nfpa.co.uk/. Information on the Climate Change Levy is available from the Department of Food, Environment and Rural Affairs’ website at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/ccl/.

Equal Opportunities

Frances Curran (West of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, following the European Union’s establishment of a strategy for sustainable development in May 2001, what measures it has put in place to prevent discrimination against women.

Malcolm Chisholm: The power to legislate about sex discrimination is reserved to the Westminster Parliament. However, the Scotland Act provided for two exceptions to this reservation under which it has been possible to take forward work on equal opportunities in general, and gender equality in particular.

  The Executive has taken a number of measures to progress the women’s agenda in Scotland and to improve the lives of women across the range of Executive policy areas. For example:

  Ensuring that equality issues, including those relating to women, are considered in the formulation and delivery of the Executive’s policy;

  Passing several pieces of legislation in Scotland, e.g. Housing Act, Local Government Act, which have equality clauses;

  Working with our partners, which include the Equal Opportunities Commission Scotland, Scottish Trade Union Council and others, in the Close the Gap campaign which raises awareness about the gender pay gap in Scotland - and encourages employers and employees to take action to close it;

  Ensuring Scottish input into UK initiatives and UK responses to EU Directives which are gender equality-related; e.g. the Equal Treatment Amendment Directive to make mainly technical changes to the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 to bring it up to date with more recent equality directives and case law;

  Funding organisations which support women e.g. Women Onto Work and Engender, and developing capacity in deprived areas through work on supporting women in the social economy;

  Funding the Women’s Fund for Scotland to provide capacity building support in local communities;

  Establishing the Scottish Women’s Convention so that women’s voices can be heard in decision-making;

  Making just under £88 million available to implement the Executive’s childcare strategy for the period 2005-07, and £20 million to the Working with Families Fund for the period 2004-06 to provide affordable, accessible childcare enabling parents in deprived areas or groups to access education, training or employment (with a further £30 million being made available for 2006-08);

  Providing a wide range of support to women and children experiencing domestic abuse, and

  Seeking to reduce health inequalities by increasing the rate of health improvement across a range of indicators for the most deprived communities by 2008, with indicators including smoking during pregnancy and teenage pregnancy. (In addition, by setting our efforts to tackle health inequalities within the wider context of our anti-poverty Closing the Opportunity Gap work, we recognise that a real impact can be made through the inter-action of related activity streams, such as housing, employment and education, all of which focus on improving outcomes for our most deprived communities.)

  Promoting equality for women covers a wide range of issues, many of which were addressed in the Strategic Group on Women’s report, Improving the Position of Women in Scotland: An Agenda for Action which was published in November 2003. The report lists recommendations to improve the lives of women in Scotland. The Executive set up and funded the group, and responded to those recommendations earmarked for its action in March 2004. An update is due this summer. Copies of both the report and the Executive’s response have been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) (Bib. numbers 31673 and 36241 respectively).

  In addition, details of previous progress can be found in the following publications, all of which are available from SPICe:

  Preliminary Report on the Equality Strategy (Bib. number 16899). (The strategy itself is Bib. number 9541.)

  Making Progress: Equality Annual Report (Bib. number 26548).

European Commission

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the responses it has given to European Commission consultations in each of the last three years.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Executive has responded to numerous European Commission consultations through the UK Government in each of the last three years. This is the normal way we respond to such consultations; to compile a list of all of these responses would incur a disproportionate cost.

  There are a number of occasions where the Executive has submitted a response directly to European Commission as part of a Commission consultation. These are:

  

Year of Response
EC Consultation
SE Department


2003
Green paper on Entrepreneurship
Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department


2003
Guidelines on Criteria and Modalities of Implementation of Structural Funds in Support of Electronic Communications
Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department


2004
Green Paper on the approximation, mutual recognition and enforcement of criminal sanctions in the European Union.
Justice Department


2004
Green Paper on Maintenance Obligations
Justice Department


2005
Green Paper on the mutual recognition of non-custodial pre-trial supervision measures
Justice Department

European Union

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what benefits will come to Scotland under its devolved responsibilities from the EU constitution.

Mr Tom McCabe: The new European Constitution brings many benefits for Scotland, the UK and Europe as a whole. It establishes a more transparent and accountable structure, allowing the EU to function more effectively, with a bigger role for national Parliaments and national governments, simpler decision-making and more efficient and streamlined institutions.

  Of particular relevance to Scotland are the specific provisions for a subsidiarity mechanism and an enhanced recognition of the role of the regions, including an obligation on the Commission to take account of regional and local views in consultation, where appropriate.

  The introduction of mutual recognition of different legal systems is also of direct benefit to Scotland.

Further Education

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans for an overall review of government and accountability in the further education sector.

Mr Jim Wallace: Following completion of the 2002-03 review of governance and accountability arrangements in the further education sector, ministers agreed to a further review after two years. A review will commence shortly.

Further Education

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive which further education colleges had a financial deficit at the end of March 2005.

Mr Jim Wallace: This information is not yet available. I have asked the Chair of the Scottish Further Education Funding Council to write to the member with the information requested as soon as it becomes available.

Further Education

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what support and advice it provides to assist further education colleges to achieve a balanced budget.

Mr Jim Wallace: It is the responsibility of the Scottish Further Education Funding Council to fund Scotland’s further education colleges and promote their efficiency and financial stability. The funding council is working closely with colleges which continue to face challenges in becoming financially secure. I look to the funding council to use its judgment and considerable expertise when considering requests for support and advice.

Further Education

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it would support the compulsory redundancy of academic staff at Inverness College in order to assist the college to balance its budget.

Mr Jim Wallace: Any redundancies are regrettable wherever they might occur. Employment issues within further education colleges, which are autonomous bodies in terms of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992, are solely for college boards of management to address. I am confident that any board would pursue the option of redundancy only as a last resort.

Graveyards

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance is issued to local authorities to address health and safety issues relating to gravestones.

Mr Tom McCabe: Responsibility for the management, regulation and control of burial grounds rests with local authorities, which also have responsibility for taking reasonable precautions where there is a foreseeable risk to either persons at work or members of the public. Guidance issued by the Health and Safety Executive to local authorities on this issue can be found on their website at www.hse.gov.uk .

Graveyards

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive who is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of gravestones in cemeteries.

Mr Tom McCabe: Responsibility for the management, regulation and control of burial grounds rests with local authorities.

Graveyards

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken in each local authority area to protect gravestones in cemeteries and old churchyards.

Mr Tom McCabe: Responsibility for the management, regulation and control of burial grounds rests with local authorities. The Scottish Executive does not hold information on action being taken by local authorities in this regard.

Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) remit and (b) duration will be of NHS Quality Improvement Scotland’s inquiry into the increase in the number of prescriptions for methylphenidate and who will participate.

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the public will have the opportunity to contribute to NHS Quality Improvement Scotland’s inquiry into the increase in the number of prescriptions for methylphenidate.

Mr Andy Kerr: The NHS Quality Improvement Scotland audit of the management of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and allied conditions will compare the overall management and specific treatment of those young people considered to have this condition with the recommendations in the SIGN guideline no. 52 Attention Deficit and Hyperkinetic Disorders in Children and Young People (published in June 2001). The audit is expected to commence before the summer and require up to two years for information gathering, analysis and publication.

  SIGN guideline no. 52 is the result of a well-established process involving the intensive scrutiny of the available evidence for effectiveness in the treatment and management of ADHD and allied disorders. The development of the guideline entailed detailed consultation with professionals working in the field, with users of services and those caring for them, as well as representatives from education, social work, and voluntary organizations. The guideline contains recommendations and good practice points derived from that evidence.

  As the audit will assess the extent to which day-to-day practice complies with the guideline, it is important that it involves all relevant perspectives. NHS Quality Improvement Scotland, which is committed to active public and patient partnership, will ensure that the audit of this guideline involves members of the public as appropriate to help to bring about a sustained improvement in the patient experience.

Health

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the effectiveness of zometa in the treatment of prostate cancer in (a) the rest of the United Kingdom, (b) Europe and (c) the United States of America.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive does not gather data on the effectiveness of drug therapies.

  The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) was established to advise all NHS boards in Scotland on new drugs and new indications for established drugs. In January 2004 the SMC concluded:

  Although zoledronic acid (zometa) demonstrated a reduction in skeletal related events (SREs) compared with placebo [in these patients], the absolute reduction was small and the study requires caution in accepting this as sufficient evidence to introduce zoledronic acid into standard practice for the treatment of patients with metastatic prostate cancer. An economic case was submitted by the manufacturer but its quality was not judged to be sufficient to support a recommendation that the drug is cost-effective relative to standard practice in Scotland for this particular indication.

  In the event of new evidence coming forward from the manufacturer regarding this therapy the SMC would be willing to consider it.

Health

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of neurologist provision in each NHS board area.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information on neurologists in post in NHS Scotland is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at www.isdscotland.org/workforce .

  The latest available figures on the website are correct at 30 September 2004.

  Section B gives details of medical staff employed in NHS Scotland. In particular, table B6 shows the whole-time equivalent (WTE) provision of neurologists, broken down by NHS board area. WTE adjusts headcount staff figures to take account of part-time staff.

Health

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what studies have been carried out to examine the links between nutrition, diet and behavioural problems.

Mr Andy Kerr: The following studies have been carried out:

  Food Standards Agency UK:

  Do food additives cause hyperactivity and behaviour problems in a geographically defined population of 3-5 year olds. Report published November 2002.

  Chronic and acute effects of artificial colourings and preservatives on children’s behaviour. Research project underway. Due to report in March 2007.

  Details of both projects are available on the FSA website www.food.gov.uk.

  Scottish Executive Chief Scientists Office:

  Currently underway.

  An HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography) and MS (mass spectroscopy) analysis of the urines of autistic and control children to investigate the validity or otherwise of dietary intervention as a treatment.

  Blood fatty acid and phospholipase A2 concentrations as indicators of abnormal phospholipids metabolism in autism: the potential for intervention using fatty acid supplements.

  In addition, the National Research Register (NRR), a UK-wide research database, records eight completed projects on links between nutrition, diet and behavioural problems. Details of these projects are available from the NRR, a copy of which is in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 17404).

Health

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the projected cost is for the establishment of community health partnerships in the next three years (a) in total and (b) broken down by NHS board.

Mr Andy Kerr: Ministers have not yet approved all NHS board schemes of establishment for Community Health Partnerships (CHPs) and therefore cannot confirm the total number of CHPs across Scotland. As of 18 April 2005, nine NHS boards have received approval for their schemes of establishment and the Scottish Executive Health Department has written to NHS board chairs requesting the estimated financial cost of the establishment of CHP committees, taking into account the dissolution of Primary Care Divisions and Local Health Care Co-operatives.

  Guidance issued by the Scottish Executive Health Department in April 2005 to NHS boards highlighted the requirement for NHS board chairs to ensure that these new partnership arrangements are affordable within current budgets. This information will be summarised and made available in June 2005.

Health

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that the block contract between NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Greater Glasgow for the referral of patients from the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth area to Glasgow hospitals is secured for the long term.

Mr Andy Kerr: NHS Greater Glasgow and NHS Lanarkshire continue to work together to ensure that patients in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth can be referred by their GPs to Greater Glasgow hospitals where this is clinically appropriate and matches the personal choice of the patient.

Health

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many referrals to (a) the Diabetes Unit at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary and (b) the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) department at The Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Yorkhill, from GPs in the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth area have been refused in each of the last five years.

Mr Andy Kerr: This is an operational matter for NHS Greater Glasgow. Information of this kind is not held centrally.

Health

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many newly built medical centres have been opened by NHS Tayside in each year since 1997.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Information requested is provided in the following table. No newly built medical centres opened in Tayside in the period 1997-2000 inclusive.

  

2001
2002
2003
2004
2005


Crieff Health Centre, Crieff, Perthshire
Aberfeldy Medical Centre, Aberfeldy, Perthshire
Craigvinean Surgery, Dunkeld, Perthshire
Springfield Medical Centre, Arbroath, Angus
Edzell Medical Practice, Edzell, Angus


Comrie Medical Centre, Comrie, Perthshire
Trades Lane Health Centre, Coupar Angus, Perthshire
Kinloch Rannoch Medical Centre, Kinloch Rannoch, Perthshire
 


Stanley Medical Centre, Stanley, Perthshire
Arthurstone Medical Centre, Dundee
Academy Medical Centre, Forfar, Angus


 
Monifieth Health Centre, Monifieth, Dundee


Links Health Centre, Montrose, Angus



  Source: NHS Tayside Primary Care Division.

Health

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-8209 by Malcolm Chisholm on 2 July 2004, whether the programme to end mixed-sex wards has been completed.

Mr Andy Kerr: The programme to eliminate mixed-sex accommodation will be complete at the end of May when all wards in the Royal Edinburgh Hospital comply with Scottish Executive guidance. In future, NHS Quality Improvement Scotland’s clinical governance reviews will check that local arrangements to safeguard the privacy and dignity of patients are in place. Any evidence that the privacy and dignity of patients is being compromised will be followed up proactively.

Health

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how the rates of respiratory disease in Scotland compare with other countries in Western Europe.

Mr Andy Kerr: The prevalence rate in Scotland in 2003 was 1,631.9 per 100,000 population. Robust international comparisons are not available, but more information on rates in Western Europe can be found on the World Health Organization Health for All database www.data.euro.who.int/hfadb .

Health

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Did Not Attends (DNAs) there were for (a) in-patient appointments and (b) out-patient appointments in each of the last three years, broken down by NHS board.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information on "did not attend" (DNA) rates for new out-patient appointments for the three latest available financial years is shown in the table below. Information on DNA rates for in-patient appointments is not collected centrally at present.

  New Out-Patient Appointments : DNAs by NHS Board of Treatment for Years Ending 31 March 2002 to 2004

  

 
2002 New Appointments Number
Did not Attend (DNA)
2003 New Appointments Number
Did Not Attend (DNA)
2004 New Appointments Number
Did Not Attend (DNA)


Number
%
Number
%
Number
%


Scotland 
1,403,154
167,310
11.9
1,410,551
169,540
12.0
1,394,961
163,966
11.8


Argyll and Clyde 
98,049
11,639
11.9
98,713
11,797
12.0
101,510
12,190
12.0


Ayrshire and Arran 
96,024
11,005
11.5
98,511
11,427
11.6
97,860
11,146
11.4


Borders 
24,521
1,437
5.9
25,213
1,587
6.3
26,216
1,720
6.6


Dumfries and Galloway
31,460
2,251
7.2
31,902
2,177
6.8
29,702
2,097
7.1


Fife 
80,503
8,655
10.8
81,911
8,529
10.4
81,047
9,048
11.2


Forth Valley 
65,214
6,776
10.4
62,412
6,270
10.0
64,637
6,682
10.3


Grampian 
112,506
10,195
9.1
110,299
9,714
8.8
111,990
9,326
8.3


Greater Glasgow 
34,3331
55,398
16.1
350,196
5,7203
16.3
334,461
53,040
15.9


Highland 
54,448
3,736
6.9
54,508
3,865
7.1
56,929
4,135
7.3


Lanarkshire 
116,184
16,522
14.2
126,700
18,556
14.6
126,426
16,752
13.3


Lothian 
211,441
23,604
11.2
209,248
23,010
11.0
205,543
22,850
11.1


Orkney 
2,881
152
5.3
2,981
151
5.1
2,632
146
5.5


Shetland 
5,043
176
3.5
4,862
254
5.2
5,210
309
5.9


Tayside 
149,395
15,056
10.1
142,030
14,232
10.0
137,912
13,843
10.0


Western Isles 
6,521
511
7.8
6,982
595
8.5
7,242
511
7.1


Other1
5,633
197
3.5
4,083
173
4.2
5,644
171
3.0



  Note: 1.Includes domiciliary locations, Golden Jubilee National Hospital and locations not otherwise coded.

  The source for new out-patients data is SMR00, which records new out-patient appointments to consultant-led out-patient clinics (excluding accident and emergency and genito-urinary medicine). SMR00 is developing to include non-consultant-led activity (e.g. nurse-led clinics).

  The "patient focused booking" process for out-patients, now operating in some Scottish hospitals and being rolled out in others, is a move to reduce out-patient DNA rates by ensuring the patient is offered a choice of appointment dates and that choice is made around six weeks before the appointment.

Health

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people with head injuries resulting from (a) cycling, (b) skateboarding and (c) rollerblading accidents have been admitted to hospital in the last year.

Mr Andy Kerr: The number of pedal cyclists admitted to hospital with head injuries as a result of being involved in a transport accident was 527 in the year ending March 2004, the latest date available. Data are not routinely collected at a level of detail that would allow explicit identification of the number of patients in Scotland with head injuries resulting from skateboarding or rollerblading.

  The number of pedestrians admitted to hospital with head injuries as a result of being involved in a transport accident was 401 in the year ending March 2004. A pedestrian is any person involved in an accident who was not at the time of the accident riding in or on a motor vehicle, railway train, streetcar or animal-drawn or other vehicle, or on a pedal cycle or animal. It is not possible to distinguish between individual pedestrian conveyances which includes skateboarding and rollerblading.

  Source: ISD Scotland, SMR01 at 18 April 2005.

  Notes:

  1. These statistics are derived from data collected on discharges from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric hospitals (SMR01) in Scotland. The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, tenth revision (ICD10) is used to identify (i) Head Injury, S00-S09, (ii) Pedal cyclists injured in transport accidents, V10-V19, and (iii) Pedestrians injured in transport accidents, V01–V09.

  2. Up to six diagnoses (one principal, five secondary) are recorded on SMR01 returns. Head injuries have been selected in principal diagnostic position with "pedal cyclists injured in transport accidents" and "pedestrians injured in transport accidents" selected in diagnostic positions two to six.

  3. A number of patients involved in such accidents will be treated as out-patients in accident and emergency departments. However, it is not possible to identify the reason for attendance at accident and emergency from centrally held data.

  4. Cases where the patient was not admitted to hospital are not included.

  5. Information presented is for Scottish residents only.

  6. In order to count patients, the SMR01 linked data set was used. All records for each patient are linked together using "probability matching". The "probability matching" algorithm uses all the available identifying information (name, date of birth, postcode, hospital case reference number etc) to link the records.

  7. A pedestrian is any person involved in an accident who was not at the time of the accident riding in or on a motor vehicle, railway train, streetcar or animal-drawn or other vehicle, or on a pedal cycle or animal. A pedestrian includes:

  Person:

  Changing wheel of a vehicle Making adjustment to motor of vehicle On foot

  User of a pedestrian conveyance such as:

  Baby carriage Ice-skates Perambulator Push-cart Push-chair Roller-skates Scooter Skateboard Skis Sled Wheelchair (powered).

Housing

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14479 by Malcolm Chisholm on 24 March 2005, how many of the new-build starts referred to have been approved for funding by Communities Scotland and have scheduled start dates.

Malcolm Chisholm: Further to my response to question S2W-14479, the figures given in that answer have been revised to take account of Communities Scotland’s Affordable Housing Investment Programme for 2005-06. The following table provides updated information on:

  (a) Number of new build starts currently scheduled over the next three years for affordable rent, and

  (b) number of new build starts currently scheduled over the next three years for low cost home ownership

  

 
(a) Affordable rent
(b) Low-Cost Home Ownership


2005-06
5,293
1,107


2006-07 to 2007-08
11,398
3,702



  Note: The numbers of new build starts for 2006-07 and 2007-08 are given as total figures across the two-year period, because the profiles for affordable rent and low-cost home ownership starts will be specified when the programmes for these years are developed.

  Six thousand, four hundred new build starts will be approved for funding by Communities Scotland in 2005-06. These will receive scheduled start dates during the course of this financial year. Dates for the remaining new build starts for the two-year period of 2006-07 and 2007-08 will be scheduled, respectively, during these financial years.

Housing

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dwellings are unoccupied, broken down by local authority area.

Malcolm Chisholm: The latest available information on unoccupied dwellings – i.e. dwellings which are not the sole or main residence of a household – comes from council tax billing systems at 6 September 2004. The table distinguishes unoccupied dwellings which were exempt from council tax and dwellings in receipt of 50% discount. Unoccupied exempt dwellings include dwellings awaiting improvement or demolition and dwellings unoccupied for less than six months. Dwellings in receipt of 50% discount include dwellings unoccupied for more than six months, second homes and some dwellings let as holiday accommodation.

  

Local Authority
Unoccupied Exemptions
50% Discount*


Aberdeen City
2,094
3,165


Aberdeenshire
1,446
3,485


Angus
852
1,956


Argyll and Bute
726
4,716


Clackmannanshire
339
396


Dumfries and Galloway
834
2,650


Dundee City
3,449
1,714


East Ayrshire
469
798


East Dunbartonshire
192
290


East Lothian
432
891


East Renfrewshire
612
295


Edinburgh, City of
3,093
6,372


Eilean Siar
668
1,317


Falkirk
601
969


Fife
2,294
5,180


Glasgow City
11,036
4,282


Highland
3,071
6,748


Inverclyde
1,237
1,375


Midlothian
313
221


Moray
652
1,464


North Ayrshire
651
2,405


North Lanarkshire
1,153
1,031


Orkney Isles
159
687


Perth and Kinross
1,119
2,899


Renfrewshire
2,039
1,242


Scottish Borders
1,128
2,157


Shetland
192
645


South Ayrshire
467
1,178


South Lanarkshire
2,153
1,452


Stirling
594
1,014


West Dunbartonshire
693
903


West Lothian
423
513


Scotland
45,181
64,410



  Source: As reported by local authorities in the statistical return Council Tax Base 2004.

  Note: *Dwellings in receipt of 50% discount include holiday homes let for less than 140 days in the year. Dwellings let as holiday accommodation for 140 days or more are liable for non-domestic rates rather than council tax and are therefore not included in the table.

Mental Health

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of state-registered nurse training is allocated to dealing with psychiatric illnesses.

Mr Andy Kerr: The pre-registration nurse education programme is delivered over three years. The first year comprises a Common Foundation Programme on which the four branches of nursing build. As well as covering the core elements of nursing practice, the Common Foundation Programme devotes a module to exploring mental health issues, such as psychoses, dementia, and the psychology of pain.

  The Branch Programme, which forms the second stage of the nurse education programme, is undertaken over years two and three of training and is specific to the individual student’s chosen area of practice. Mental health is one of these branches, accounts for 15% of nursing students, and is dedicated to mental health issues.

  All other branches of nursing - adult, child and learning disabilities - also cover mental health issues specific to that branch. All student nurses learn to use skills that support patients holistically across branches and patient care settings.

Mental Health

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many psychiatric consultants are available to each NHS board on a (a) part-time and (b) full-time basis.

Mr Andy Kerr: At 30 September 2004, there were 446 consultants in post, an increase of 22% from 365 in 1999.

  A copy of this most up-to-date information, broken down by contract type and NHS board has been placed within the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 36215).

NHS Boards

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has allocated to NHS Dumfries and Galloway, including funding allocated to the former primary care and acute services trusts, in each year since 1999.

Mr Andy Kerr: The funding allocated to NHS Dumfries and Galloway, including the former NHS trusts, in each year since 1999 is as follows:

  

Year
£000


1999-2000
 145,930 


2000-01
 152,671 


2001-02
 164,303 


2002-03
 180,738 


2003-04
 201,368 



  Funding was allocated on a cash basis from 1999 to 2002 and on a resource basis from 2002 onwards. Resource allocations include funding to cover expenditure that does not require payment of cash such as depreciation, cost of capital, impairment and accruals.

NHS Staff

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what powers NHS boards have in rationalising managerial posts following the abolition of NHS trusts and the formation of operating divisions and whether there are any pay or condition arrangements or general employment procedures restricting them in rationalising such posts.

Mr Andy Kerr: This is a matter for NHS boards, who make their own decisions about internal management arrangements. That discretion is of course subject to normal employment legislation, good practice relating to employee relations and the rights of staff under national pay and conditions of service.

NHS Staff

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how often primary care staff in NHS Lanarkshire left their employment and were not replaced with a full-time equivalent in each year since 1999 and how many positions it estimates will be vacated and not replaced in each of the next three years.

Mr Andy Kerr: The specific information requested is not held centrally. Current data on NHS staff collected by ISD does not allow the explicit identification of staff working in primary care settings. Information on most staff groups is available by specialty and work area, rather than by health care setting.

  Information on staff employed in NHS Scotland is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at www.isdscotland.org/workforce.

NHS Staff

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how often administrative staff in NHS Lanarkshire left their employment and were not replaced with a full-time equivalent in each year since 1999 and what positions it estimates will be vacated and not replaced in each of the next three years.

Mr Andy Kerr: The specific information requested is not held centrally.

NHS Staff

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) district nurses, (b) health visitors, (c) treatment room nurses, (d) midwives and (e) speech language therapists were employed by NHS Lanarkshire to work in the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth area in each of the last five years and how many it estimates will be employed in each of the next five years.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information on staff employed now and in the future by NHS Lanarkshire to work specifically in the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth area is not available centrally.

NHS Staff

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) qualified nurses, (b) qualified physiotherapists, (c) qualified occupational therapists and (d) speech therapists worked in the NHS in (i) 1999, (ii) 2000, (iii) 2001, (iv) 2002, (v) 2003 and (vi) 2004, broken down by NHS board area.

Mr Andy Kerr: Between 30 September 1999 and 30 September 2004, the whole-time equivalent numbers of staff in post in each staff group increased. In Scotland, qualified nurses rose from 35,596.5 to 38,906.5 (up 9.3%), qualified physiotherapists from 1,737.1 to 1,997.9 (up 15.0%), qualified occupational therapists from 1,088.2 to 1,364.5 (up 25.3%) and qualified speech therapists from 708.1 to 814.0 (up 15.0%). Figures for individual years and NHS boards are published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics at www.isdscotland.org/workforce .

  Section A gives details of qualified nurses broken down by NHS board. In particular, table A1 shows the whole-time equivalent and table A2 shows headcount figures for each year since 1994. Qualified physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists can be found in tables F1 and F2 of Section F. Latest available figures are at 30 September 2004.

NHS Staff

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) qualified nurses, (b) qualified physiotherapists, (c) qualified occupational therapists and (d) speech therapists left the NHS in (i) 1999, (ii) 2000, (iii) 2001, (iv) 2002, (v) 2003 and (vi) 2004, broken down by NHS board area.

Mr Andy Kerr: Due to the large volume of data requested the information has been placed in the parliament reference centre. (Bib. number 36221).

NHS Staff

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much public funding was allocated to the training of (a) qualified nurses, (b) qualified physiotherapists, (c) qualified occupational therapists and (d) speech therapists in (i) 1999, (ii) 2000, (iii) 2001, (iv) 2002, (v) 2003 and (vi) 2004, broken down by NHS board area.

Mr Andy Kerr: This information is not held centrally. NHS boards are required by the mandatory Staff Governance Standard to ensure that their staff are appropriately trained. There is no requirement for NHS boards to return their figures to the Scottish Executive. The Staff Governance Standard is monitored by the Scottish Partnership Forum and in that way the performance of each NHS board is monitored.

NHS Waiting Times

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time for podiatry has been in each NHS board in each year since 1999, showing year-on-year changes.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Nursing

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice and assistance it gives to NHS boards in respect of the employment of specialist nursing staff.

Mr Andy Kerr: Recruitment and training of specialist nurses is primarily a matter for NHS boards to determine in the light of clinical needs and service developments within their area.

  To support NHS boards, the Health Department has produced a Framework for Developing Nursing Roles. This document sets out the principles for developing and sustaining nursing roles such as specialist nursing roles. It will be disseminated to NHSScotland by May 2005.

Organ Donation

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken to implement the recommendations of the Scottish Transplant Group’s report, An Organ Donation Strategy for Scotland .

Mr Andy Kerr: A great deal of work has been undertaken to implement the recommendations of the Scottish Transplant Group’s Organ Donation Strategy for Scotland since it was published in July 2002. The Organ Donation Teaching Resource Pack was launched in November 2003; two non-heart beating donor programmes began at the start of this year, one in Glasgow and the other in Edinburgh; a Scottish Organ Retrieval Team has been established on a pilot basis; the Executive has run several successful national advertising campaigns to raise public awareness of the issues surrounding organ donation and transplantation; there has been a greater emphasis on the role of living donation, particularly in the context of developments, in common with the rest of the UK, relating to paired and non-directed donation, and discussions are under way on the most effective way of increasing retrieval of tissue for transplantation.

Organ Donation

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take as a result of the responses received to its consultation on legislation relating to organ and tissue donation and transplantation.

Mr Andy Kerr: We intend to introduce a Human Tissue (Scotland) Bill to update the legislation on organ donation and transplantation. As I indicated in my letter of 28 February which issued with the reports of the analyses of the responses, the responses to the consultation supported our approach that the new legislation should follow the recommendation of the Scottish Transplant Group and strengthen the existing system of opting in by giving greater weight to the wishes about donation which people express during life. The bill will be introduced once the Smoking, Health and Social Care Bill completes its parliamentary stages.

Refugees

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding was specifically allocated to promote greater awareness of asylum seeker and refugee issues throughout Scotland in (a) 2000, (b) 2001, (c) 2002, (d) 2003 and (e) 2004.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive provided £85,000 for the 2004 and 2005 North Glasgow International Festivals, an initiative focussed specifically on awareness raising. The Scottish Refugee Council receives funding to meet core costs and in 2005-06 is being provided with £64,000 to run Refugee Week which aims to increase awareness of refugee and asylum issues.

  In 2002, the Scottish Executive also provided £9,500 to launch a resource entitled Welcoming Newcomers with the aim of supporting schools in sharing good practice in the integration of asylum seekers and refugees http://www.antibullying.net/newcomers1.htm.

  Communities Scotland has provided almost £4 million since September 2001 through the Integration Fund for Asylum Seekers to support a range of projects, which will contribute to promoting greater awareness of asylum seeker and refugee issues. In addition, the Scottish Executive has provided over £1million since 2003 to projects taking forward recommendations in the Scottish Refugee Integration Forum Action Plan http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/04/04142815/28180.

  Many of these projects have an awareness raising element built into them.

Renewable Energy

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the reduction in CO 2 emissions as a result of the increased use of wind farm-generated energy.

Mr Jim Wallace: The actual reductions in CO 2  emissions will depend on which fuels are displaced and how much wind energy capacity is developed. We estimate that were coal to be displaced, CO 2  savings could be up to 16 million tonnes by 2020 if our renewables targets are met in full.

Renewable Energy

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is sufficient capability in conventional power stations to provide energy in the event that wind farms are unable to produce energy.

Mr Jim Wallace: Regulation of the electricity supply sector is reserved. Scotland currently has more than the recommended margin of generating capacity over peak demand.

Renewable Energy

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the increased cost of bulk electricity when the target for renewable energy by wind power is realised.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Executive has not set any target for wind generated energy. We are committed to delivering our renewables targets from a wide range of renewable energy sources.

  The estimated impact on electricity costs as a result of generating more energy from renewable sources was published in the recent National Audit Office report – Department of Trade and Industry renewable energy. The report is available via their website at www.nao.org.uk.

Sustainable Development

Frances Curran (West of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, following the European Union’s establishment of a strategy for sustainable development in May 2001, what measures it has put in place to focus its policies on poverty reduction.

Malcolm Chisholm: Both the EU and the Executive recognise that measures for tackling poverty and growing the economy are key factors in delivering sustainable development.

  The Executive’s strategy for tackling poverty and disadvantage in Scotland predated the EU’s sustainable development strategy, being first outlined in Social Justice…a Scotland where everyone matters in March 1999. Progress and delivery measures were published annually until 2003.

  The Executive has recently refocused its policies on reducing poverty with its Closing the Opportunity Gap approach, details of which were announced to Parliament in S2W-12888 (9 December 2004). More information on aims, objectives, targets and delivery plans can be found at www.scotland.gov.uk/closingtheopportunitygap.

  In addition, the Executive has many other policies that tackle poverty. These are identified as contributing to Closing the Opportunity Gap in both Building a Better Scotland: Spending Proposals 2005-2008: Enterprise, Opportunity, Fairness (29 September 2004) and the Draft Budget 2005-06 (15 October 2004).